Viral Marketing - Case Study - BMW Films
Developed by KCB336 New Media Technologies students in the Creative Industries Faculty, QUT.
BMW Films was the driving force of BMW's successful interactive marketing campaign, the "Ultimate Driving Machine" (Hespos, 2002). In 2001, BMW released "The Hire", a series of five feature-quality short films for the Internet to support the release of new vehicles. Each short film featured a central character called The Driver who "helped people through difficult circumstances using deft driving skills-in a prominent BMW" (Hespos, 2002). The films were directed by leading Hollywood directors including John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie and Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu along with actors Madonna, Stellan Skarasgaard, and Clive Owen as The Driver. The A-list highlighted that the series was high quality entertainment, which typifies the BMW brand. Hespos (2002) noted that all five films showcased the performance aspects of a different BMW model and delivered a unique message in the luxury/performance automobile category. "BMW Films was a non-traditional concept to show consumers what makes a BMW a BMW" (Hespos, 2002).
Creativity
In addition to the BMW Films series the promotional campaign consisted of TV spots that copied trailers, and print and online advertising, which were designed to drive consumers to the web site (Hespos, 2002). The guerilla public relations campaign utilized several diverse promotion tactics including seeding news of the BMW Films at key Internet entertainment rumour sites and a radio DJ program in 20 key metro markets (http://www.pmalink.org/awards/reggie/2002reggiewinners3.asp, 3 October 2005).
Strategy
BMW marketing targeted customers between the ages of 25 and 44 who were new to the luxury car market, nevertheless without alienating their current customer base (http://www.pmalink.org/awards/reggie/2002reggiewinners3.asp, 3 October 2005) The customer base of BMW was 46-year-old male, married with no children, and had a median income of about $150,000. More importantly, the Internet was used by 85% of customers before buying a BMW (Hespos, 2002). "Combining the ideas of producing a series of short films and using the Internet in an advertising campaign, short films for the Internet was born with BMW Films" (Hespos, 2002).
Results
The success of BMW Films was measurable. In 2001, BMW sales increased by 12.5% compared to 2000, surpassing the 200,000 mark for the first time in history (http://www.pmalink.org/awards/reggie/2002reggiewinners3.asp, 3 October 2005). "During the four month core of the promotion, the films were viewed more than 11 million times, initially drawing more visits than the site could handle" (http://www.pmalink.org/awards/reggie/2002reggiewinners3.asp, 3 October 2005). The short films were recommended by 94% of registrants to other people, which ultimately seeded the viral campaign (Hespos, 2002). It proved to be so immensely popular that BMW produced a free DVD of the series, which included extra features (Hespos, 2002). "The Hire's" success led way for BMW to create three more short films in 2002. All three films featured BMW's newly introduced Z4 roadster. The second series was produced by brothers Ridley and Tony Scott, and directed by John Woo and Joe Carnahan, while Clive Owen returned as The Driver.
References
- Hespos, T. (2002) “BMW Films: The Ultimate Marketing Scheme,�? retrieved October 3, 2005, from http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/546.asp
- Giardina, C. and Lehane, S. (2002) "The Driver Returns," retrieved October 3, 2005, from http://www.dtvprofessional.com/2002/12_dec/features/bmw_returns.htm
- (2002) "BMW Films," retrieved October 3, 2005, from http://www.pmalink.org/awards/reggie/2002reggiewinners3.asp
Donnabel Guillermo 23:37, 12 Oct 2005 (EST)
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